The present invention pertains to tie bags used most commonly for the storage and disposal of debris and other ubiquitous waste materials and, more particularly, to bags having tie features having increased thickness as compared to the thickness of the remainder of the bag. This increase in the thickness of the tie features provides ease of handling, improved strength and improved ease of tying.
The manufacture and use of polyethylene storage and disposal bags is well known in the art. One of the bothersome problems with the use of plain rectangularity shaped storage bags is the inconvenience involved in trying to tie the bag closed. Several brands use separate metal wire ties, which are packaged along with the bags. As a separate item, these metal wire ties can be unwieldy to use and often become lost.
A convenient user feature of the polyethylene bags of this invention are its tie features, which are integral with the body of the bag. These tie features comprise a curved, cut-out portion of the bag web. As built-in features, the ties can be grasped and knotted to seal the bag; hence, they are referred to in the trade as xe2x80x9ctie bagsxe2x80x9d. Representatives of such xe2x80x9ctie bagsxe2x80x9d are those illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,890,736, 5,041,317, 5,246,110, 5,683,340, 5,611,627 and 5,709,641, incorporated herein by reference thereto, which are characterized as having 2, 3 or 4 tie features.
These tie bags are characterized by having tie features that extend above the bag volume portion that is used for holding the bag contents. The tie features are used as closure means by tying the mouth of the bag closed after the contents of the bag have been placed in the bag.
It has been determined that the ease of tying and the strength of the joined tie features can be improved by making the plastic film thickness greater in the tie features as compared to the film thickness used for holding the contents portion of the bag.
The instant invention relates to a tie bag comprising two opposing sidewalls sealed along three of the four edges and having at least two tie features extending from said open edge of the sidewalls and characterized as being suitable for tying. The tie features are characterized as having a thickness greater than the thickness of the sidewalls of the bags. The relative thickness of the tie features will be discussed hereinafter.
In accordance with the present invention, there are provided a bag formed from two opposing side walls having four edges and sealed along three of the four edges and having at least two tie features extending from said fourth unsealed open edge of the side wall. The tie features are characterized as being suitable for tying and having a thickness greater than the thickness of the sidewalls. These tie features can comprise curved or other geometrically shaped portions of the bag film. The tie features can be grasped and knotted to seal the bag; hence, they are referred to in the trade as xe2x80x9ctie bagsxe2x80x9d. Representative tie bags which may be improved by using thickened tie features include, but are not limited to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,890,736, 5,041,317, 5,246,110, 5,683,340, 5,611,627 and 5,709,641, said patents being incorporated herein by reference thereto.
The instant tie bags are characterized by having tie features that extend above the bag volume portion of the bag used for holding the bag contents. The tie features are used as closure means for tying the mouth of the bag closed after the contents of the bag have been placed into the bag. After the tie features are joined the joined tie features can be used as a handle to lift the bag to transport the bag from one location to another location.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bag having increased thickness in the tie features to improve the use of the bag.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for manufacturing a tie bag where a film can be produced to have increased thickness in the tie features.